FORM 8-K



                  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                        Washington, D.C.  20549



                            CURRENT REPORT



                Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                    Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                    Date of Report:  October, 1997


                      MAINE PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY            
        (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



            Maine                   1-3429          01-0113635      
(State, or other jurisdiction    (Commission       (IRS Employer
      of incorporation)          File Number)    Identification No.)


209 State Street, Presque Isle, Maine                 04769  
(Address of principal executive offices)            (Zip Code)


Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code   207-768-5811










Current Report, Form 8-K for                            Date of Report
Maine Public Service Company                          October 15, 1997


Item 5.   a)   Other Material Events - Maine Yankee Audit Report

          In the Company's Form 10-K for December 31, 1996 as well as
          the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 1997, the
          Company described the significant regulatory and operational
          issues at the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Plant (Maine Yankee),
          of which the Company is a 5% owner.  As previously reported,
          Maine Yankee has been out of service since December 6, 1996
          and was not expected to return to service until August, 1997. 
          In the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 1997, the
          Company reported that on August 6, 1997, the Board of
          Directors of Maine Yankee voted to permanently close power
          operations at the plant and begin the process of
          decommissioning the plant.  The formal vote followed an
          announcement by the Maine Yankee Board on August 1, 1997, that
          Maine Yankee and Peco Energy Company, after two months of
          intensive negotiations, had been unable to arrive at "a
          mutually beneficial framework for agreement" on a sale of the
          plant to Peco.  The decision to shut down the plant was based
          on an economic analysis of the costs, risks and uncertainties
          associated with operating the plant compared to those
          associated with closing and decommissioning the plant.

          In a related matter, in early September, 1997, the Maine
          Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) released the report of a
          consultant it had retained to perform a management audit of
          Maine Yankee for the period January 1, 1994 to June 30, 1997. 
          The report contained both positive and negative conclusions,
          the latter explaining that: Maine Yankee's decision in
          December, 1996 to proceed with the steps necessary to restart
          its nuclear generating plant at Wiscasset, Maine, was
          "imprudent"; that Maine Yankee's May 27, 1997, decision to
          reduce restart-expenses while exploring a possible sale of the
          plant was "inappropriate," based on the consultant's finding
          that a more objective and comprehensive competitive analysis
          at that time "might have indicated a benefit for restarting"
          the plant; and that those decisions resulted in Maine Yankee
          incurring $95.9 million in "unreasonable" costs.  The Company
          believes the report's negative conclusions are unfounded and
          may be contradictory but cannot predict how the MPUC plans to
          use the consultant's report in determining the Company's
          retail rates.  The Company plans to vigorously contest the
          negative conclusions of the report if they are introduced in
          Maine Yankee's anticipated rate proceeding before the Federal
          Energy Regulatory Commission, which has exclusive jurisdiction
          over Maine Yankee's rates, or in any proceeding before the
          MPUC under the Company's multi-year rate plan.


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Current Report, Form 8-K for                            Date of Report
Maine Public Service Company                          October 15, 1997

          b)   Other Material Events - Restructured Purchase Power
          Agreement with Wheelabrator-Sherman

          The Company has a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the
          Wheelabrator-Sherman Energy Company (W/S) under which the
          Company is obligated to purchase the entire output (up to
          126,582 MWH) of a 17.6 MW biomass plant owned by W/S.  The
          current term of the PPA runs through December 31, 2000 and may
          be renewed by either party for an additional fifteen years at
          prices to be determined by mutual agreement or, absent mutual
          agreement, by the MPUC.

          On October 15, 1997, the Company and W/S agreed to amend the
          PPA.  Under the terms of this amendment, W/S has agreed to
          reductions in the price of purchased power of approximately
          $10 million over the PPA's current term.  The Company and W/S
          have also agreed to renew the PPA for an additional six years
          at agreed-upon prices.  The Company will also make an upfront
          payment to W/S of between $8.6 and $8.7 million, depending
          upon the exact date of the transaction.  The Company believes
          the amended PPA will help relieve its financial pressure
          caused by the recent closure of Maine Yankee (see the
          Company's Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 1997) as
          well as the need for substantial increases in its retail
          rates, and is therefore in the best interests of the Company,
          its customers and shareholders.

          The Company intends to finance the upfront payment to W/S from
          funds obtained from the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME). 
          Absent FAME financing, the Company does not believe it will be
          able to obtain the funds on terms sufficiently economic to
          justify the arrangement with W/S.  The amended PPA must be
          approved by the MPUC if FAME financing is to be obtained,
          which approval is currently being sought.  The Company has
          also asked the MPUC to allow it to flow through immediately
          the agreed-to reduction in power purchase costs under the
          current term of the PPA, instead of deferring the reduction
          until the year 2000 as required by the Company's Rate
          Stabilization Plan approved by the MPUC in November, 1995. 
          The Company has further asked the MPUC for a determination
          that any so-called stranded investment created by the amended
          PPA will be recoverable from customers to the extent permitted
          by Maine law.  The MPUC's decision on this matter is due by
          mid-November, 1997.  The MPUC's and FAME's favorable action on
          these matters is a prerequisite to amending the PPA.  The
          Company cannot predict either the MPUC's or FAME's ultimate
          decisions.



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Current Report, Form 8-K for                            Date of Report
Maine Public Service Company                          October 15, 1997


                                   MAINE PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY
                                             Registrant



Dated:  October 15, 1997            /s/ Larry E. LaPlante              
                                   Larry E. LaPlante, Vice President
                                   Finance, Administration and Treasurer









































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